My View: Cahill is right to oppose CH deal

In an unwarranted personal attack on state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill (editorial June 25), the Times Herald-Record criticizes his opposition to a 1 percent Ulster County sales tax extension which, if not approved, would allegedly cause the county to lose $22 million in revenue next year.

Comment

By Jurgen Wekerle

recordonline.com

By Jurgen Wekerle

Posted Jul. 2, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Jurgen Wekerle

Posted Jul. 2, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

In an unwarranted personal attack on state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill (editorial June 25), the Times Herald-Record criticizes his opposition to a 1 percent Ulster County sales tax extension which, if not approved, would allegedly cause the county to lose $22 million in revenue next year.

Forget not that Cahill also represents town governments and all taxpayers, not just the county government. And just like the state imposing universally disliked unfunded mandates on the counties, in turn, the counties delegate the similar cost of shared services to the towns. A legitimate county-town issue exists about how those added municipal costs are to be paid. Increasing the town share of the county sales tax revenue is a traditional budget remedy. Forget not that the county executive and Legislature are equally responsible for addressing the same municipal revenue concerns championed by Cahill.

The Times Herald-Record then attempts to paint Cahill as a "bully," regarding his sales tax quarrel by inexplicably criticizing him for still opposing the state Public Service Commission's (PSC) approval of the sale of Central Hudson Energy (CH) to the Canadian holding company, Fortis.

Ironically, the newspaper itself is critical of the CH-Fortis deal. Insightful editorials have revealed the woeful PSC oversight actions, which prevented timely public participation in the decision-making process, and have faulted the PSC for being an "enabler" promoting a private deal between two private corporations instead of being a "regulator" of a public utility entrusted to protect the public and ratepayer interests.

The major dereliction of the PSC was its refusal to conduct an open evidentiary hearing during which documents could be vetted, sworn testimony could be received and the preposterous benefits promised by Fortis could be challenged. Such formal hearings were conducted for all other recent utility sales, including those of Orange & Rockland, NYSEG, and Niagara-Mohawk. That flagrant PSC failure continues as a critical issue today.

Whatever differences the county executive, the Legislature, the towns and Cahill may have over the Ulster County sales tax extension, they all remain opposed to the CH-Fortis deal and to the untenable actions of the PSC.

Jurgen Wekerle is the chair of the Conservation Committee of the Sierra Club, Ramapo-Catskill Group.